In 2012, War in the Middle East was ongoing, as it has been for every year since Israel was installed there as a country against the wishes of the rest of the region by a government 3000 miles away who had colonial power to do so, but no real local mandate or participation. Someone set up us the bomb.

palelizard:Assuming for the moment this is all accurate, why would this cause a response from Lebanon/Hezbollah against Israel?

Turkish officers give the rebels a central command structure, which makes them more potent as an adversary. It also signals Turkey is willing to put its money where its mouth is in terms of support for the rebels, which is bad news for Assad. Bad news for Assad is bad news for Hezbollah, as Syria/Assad is one of their two state allies, the other being Iran. Hezbollah is not about to take on Turkey, which is a muslim country; such an attack would undercut their legitimacy. So who can they hit? Israel, who stands to benefit if Assad falls.

palelizard:Assuming for the moment this is all accurate, why would this cause a response from Lebanon/Hezbollah against Israel?

It wouldn't. If Bashir's government falls, bet your ass it's going to devolve into a religious civil war with the Muslims versus the Alawites, who will fight for their existence. If Israel's smart, they'll stay out of it. They could potentially funnel support to the Alalwites/Christians who will likely be in the deepest shiat. On one hand it serves Syria right for de-stablizing Lebanon. On the other thousands upon thousands will die and the country will be a liability, just like Iraq after 2003.

They link back to Newsmax. So I'm sorta starting to doubt it. Every other headline is about how Israel is sick of dealing with Obama.

Anybody else have an opinion?

seconded.

man arent there enough of these sites being linked to from Fark already?

Indeed. If this was really happening then it would be all over Al Jazeera, Reuters, and AP. Anytime something happens with a NATO member and military action it is plastered everywhere. Especially if it involved Syria.

They link back to Newsmax. So I'm sorta starting to doubt it. Every other headline is about how Israel is sick of dealing with Obama.

Anybody else have an opinion?

I'm not finding much more than the usual at Al Jazeera English. The top headline seems to be "Two bombings strike Damascus." Those would be a motorcycle bombing and a car bombing. Which is just another sad day in the region, to be honest. I'm not seeing anything striking regarding Israel or Turkey. The big news here is the civil war in Syria...

palelizard:Assuming for the moment this is all accurate, why would this cause a response from Lebanon/Hezbollah against Israel?

Doing so makes sense for Turkey, as right now they have all these Syrian soldiers, ex regulars, milling around inside or just outside their borders. In exchange for coordinated leadership, a safe haven, and probably weapons, Turkey gets the rebels under discipline and under its control, which means no unpleasant cross-border problems unless Turkey is on board with them.

I would be a little surprised if this report were true, however. I see a lot of downside for the rebels, and Turkey as well.

trotsky:It wouldn't. If Bashir's government falls, bet your ass it's going to devolve into a religious civil war with the Muslims versus the Alawites, who will fight for their existence. If Israel's smart, they'll stay out of it

This isn't Israel looking for a fight, this is Hezbollah looking to change the subject. I'm sure many Hezbollah see Turkey as a proxy for Israel, even though relations between the two have cooled substantially.

Galloping Galoshes:palelizard: Assuming for the moment this is all accurate, why would this cause a response from Lebanon/Hezbollah against Israel?

Doing so makes sense for Turkey, as right now they have all these Syrian soldiers, ex regulars, milling around inside or just outside their borders. In exchange for coordinated leadership, a safe haven, and probably weapons, Turkey gets the rebels under discipline and under its control, which means no unpleasant cross-border problems unless Turkey is on board with them.

I would be a little surprised if this report were true, however. I see a lot of downside for the rebels, and Turkey as well.

Galloping Galoshes:palelizard: Assuming for the moment this is all accurate, why would this cause a response from Lebanon/Hezbollah against Israel?

Doing so makes sense for Turkey, as right now they have all these Syrian soldiers, ex regulars, milling around inside or just outside their borders. In exchange for coordinated leadership, a safe haven, and probably weapons, Turkey gets the rebels under discipline and under its control, which means no unpleasant cross-border problems unless Turkey is on board with them.

I would be a little surprised if this report were true, however. I see a lot of downside for the rebels, and Turkey as well.

Generation_D:In 2012, War in the Middle East was ongoing, as it has been for every year since Israel was installed there as a country against the wishes of the rest of the region by a government 3000 miles away who had colonial power to do so, but no real local mandate or participation. Someone set up us the bomb.

Arthur Balfour: All your base are belong to us.

Yeah, because it was all ice cream sundaes and pony rides and tea at high noon before that.

Galloping Galoshes:trotsky: It wouldn't. If Bashir's government falls, bet your ass it's going to devolve into a religious civil war with the Muslims versus the Alawites, who will fight for their existence. If Israel's smart, they'll stay out of it

This isn't Israel looking for a fight, this is Hezbollah looking to change the subject. I'm sure many Hezbollah see Turkey as a proxy for Israel, even though relations between the two have cooled substantially.

This is the same calculation as Gulf War I, when Iraq bombarded Israel to try to get them do do something that would complicate things.